The Tyrant’s Drama Queen Empress

CHAPTER 52: Time to Swap Her Brother and Parents?

　　Senior Eunuch Feng raised another point, “Xue Yunshi plotted treachery, and Shen Jinxiu was involved. Since he is Bao Fei’s brother, Your Majesty, do you wish to tell Her Grace?”

　　Xie Yuanxun replied casually, “You said he’s her brother—did I ever admit it?”

　　Xie Yuanxun was the type of person who could treat his father’s tomb like ‘a place to stomp on whenever I’m in a bad mood and instantly feel better.’ Would he care about filial rules or Confucian principles? Of course not.

　　He said, “Kill him. There are plenty who’d be willing to be her brother.” He paused thoughtfully. “Better yet, let’s ask her what kind of brother she wants.”

　　Senior Eunuch Feng smiled. “Yes, Your Majesty is right. We should ask Bao Fei clearly.”

　　Xie Yuanxun added, “Feng Zhi, what do you think about me letting her change her parents too?” Since they were already swapping her brother, why not her parents as well?

　　Senior Eunuch Feng said gently, “Your Majesty, you should ask Bao Fei first.”

　　Xie Yuanxun replied, “Oh, right.”

　　So after waking up on the soft, cozy bed, Shen Ling, who had originally planned to brainstorm with Liu Zhu on how to maximize the profits of her exclusive stinky tofu and sell it across the entire Da Liang Dynasty, instead heard Xie Yuanxun tell her he was going to swap her father, mother, and brother—custom-making a brand-new version of his usual teasing words just for her.

　　Shen Ling asked, “Your Majesty, are you serious? You’re not joking with me?”

　　Xie Yuanxun said, “Since when have I ever lied to you?”

　　So he really was serious. Shen Ling looked at Xie Yuanxun with awe.

　　—Your Majesty, not even the slyest fox could match your level of mischief.

　　Xie Yuanxun said, “You still haven’t answered me. Do you want the swap or not?”

　　Shen Ling said, “Do you really think I’m going to tell you the truth?”

　　—I would say yes to the swap, but what if you change it back later, or what if you think this game is fun and keep swapping one family after another? I’d be completely tortured by you.

　　—And if I say no, then what kind of person would I be? That’s too fake. I’ve always been a true little villain—if I’m scheming, I do it right in front of you.

　　Xie Yuanxun pressed a hand to his forehead, “...Looks like you don’t actually want the swap.”

　　Shen Ling frowned, her tone reluctant, “That’s fine too, I guess.”

　　Xie Yuanxun studied her, “So you do want the swap.”

　　Shen Ling stuck to her line, “Fine, I guess.”

　　Xie Yuanxun raised an eyebrow, “What kind of answer is that? You’re letting me decide for you.”

　　Shen Ling poured the tea for him with perfect grace, all sweet and obedient. If her body weren’t still soft and lazy from sleeping so much, she might’ve even stood up to give him a shoulder rub, a little back massage, maybe even whispered in his ear to really show her devotion.

　　“Letting Your Majesty choose for me is only because I trust you. If anyone else asked for this kind of chance, I wouldn’t give it to them,” she said, her tone playful but sincere.

　　Xie Yuanxun lifted the cup and took a sip. Looking down, he noticed the cup was completely empty of tea leaves—just plain water. That figures. All those tribute teas she got? She didn’t care for any of them. But he loved giving them to her, because even though she didn’t like it, she always acted as if she were delighted to receive them, and he found that entertaining.

　　“I’m not going to help you choose,” Xie Yuanxun said.

　　“Huh? Why not?” Shen Ling blinked, genuinely curious.

　　Xie Yuanxun said, “Because if I help you choose, I get nothing out of it. I don’t do things that give me nothing.”

　　Shen Ling froze for a moment.

　　—Wow, that’s… brutally honest.

　　Liu Zhu had the servants lay out the meal, and Shen Ling stayed seated, waiting. Once everything was ready, she picked up her chopsticks and started eating. Most of the dishes were meat, of course. They were at the Mulan Hunting Grounds, so there was plenty of fresh meat available—caught and killed right on the spot.

　　She took a bite of venison and casually asked, “Why did Your Majesty suddenly decide to change my brother and parents?”

　　Xie Yuanxun glanced at her. “You want to know?”

　　Shen Ling swallowed the venison, scooped some soup into her bowl, and lifted it to sip. “Of course I want to know. Otherwise, why do you think I’m asking? Don’t I have anything better to do?”

　　Xie Yuanxun said leisurely, “Shen Jinxiu wants to join the rebels. If it actually happens, he’d be executed along with his entire clan. And you’re part of Shen’s nine clans too.” His expression was teasing.

　　“Pft—” Shen Ling immediately sprayed the soup she was sipping all over.

　　Her face darkened as she glared, replying completely off-topic, “You did that on purpose, didn’t you!”

　　Xie Yuanxun leaned back in his chair and nodded openly, “Mm, on purpose. I just knew you’d be shocked when you heard it. I thought you’d choke, but instead, you spat it out.”

　　Shen Ling went silent.

　　—You should feel lucky you’re not sitting across from me, or else I’d have sprayed this soup all over your face.

　　Wiping her mouth, Shen Ling finally started thinking about what Xie Yuanxun said regarding Shen Jinxiu’s involvement in the rebellion. She didn’t doubt that he was telling the truth. After all, Senior Eunuch Feng and the Shadow Guards weren’t useless. From the secret reports she’d read while running her newspaper, she knew there wasn’t a single thing in the Court or the entire Da Liang Dynasty that Xie Yuanxun didn’t know—he just decided whether or not he wanted to.    

　　Shen Ling thought for a moment. In the book, Shen Jinxiu had always been obedient in the Da Liang Dynasty, and you could even call him loyal to the throne. After all, there was that scene where he got clawed in the chest by a crazed tiger while trying to protect the Emperor, almost dying for it. Later, after the Da Liang Dynasty fell, his skills were recognized by the new Emperor and he was put to good use, becoming the Emperor’s right-hand man.

　　And now she was hearing Xie Yuanxun say that Shen Jinxiu was joining a rebellion?

　　Shen Ling lifted her bowl and gulped down a few more mouthfuls, trying to calm the ‘what the hell is going on’ frustration building up in her.

　　She asked, “Who is he rebelling with?”

　　Could it be that Prince from the book who sent the frenzied white tiger to try and assassinate Xie Yuanxun? Honestly, that Prince’s appearance in the story played a crucial role in pushing Shen Jinxiu and Shen Xi’s romance forward. Without him, some of the plot wouldn’t have existed at all. Xie Yuanxun killed plenty of people, sure, but there were also plenty who wanted to kill him; it just depended on whether they had the guts. For example, the group of men in black who came to the hunting grounds to kill him were completely omitted from the book.

　　So the only person Shen Ling could think of was that rebellious Prince, the one who stirred up others’ love stories. Of course, he had a pretty miserable ending too.

　　But the book never mentioned that prince’s full name, so Shen Ling had no idea what he was actually called. Hmm… probably Xie something, since he was a Prince and the Da Liang Dynasty didn’t have Princes with other surnames.

　　Xie Yuanxun answered, “Xue Yunshi, the son of a Princess. I think the Princess was called Wang Zhen… or maybe Yuzhen.”

　　Shen Ling frowned. “That sounds kind of familiar.”

　　“Familiar?” Xie Yuanxun raised an eyebrow.

　　Shen Ling hesitated. “I mean Princess Yuzhen… her name sounds familiar.”

　　—All day long I’m stuck with you, she thought. Which other man am I supposed to be familiar with? Even if I wanted to, I wouldn’t have the chance.

　　Xie Yuanxun let out a cold laugh. She actually thought about being familiar with some other man? Dream on, even thinking about it won’t get you anywhere!

　　Shen Ling pretended not to hear his cold snort.

　　—What’s making you so grumpy and weird? Is it because of Xue Yunshi? No, it’s my irresistible charm with nowhere to hide! Look at how much you care about me, how possessive you get. You hear me mention some other man and suddenly you’re jealous to the point of splitting walls. Sigh, it’s my fault, all my fault. If only my charm didn’t shine so brightly in your eyes.

　　Xie Yuanxun, “......” His face was blank.

　　Her charm? What charm? The kind where she sprays soup everywhere?

　　Shen Ling explained, “On the way here, by Beizhu Lake, I ran into someone. You’ve met her too, but judging by your expression, you don’t remember. Okay, just listen. She’s Xue Mi’er, living in the Princess’s Manor. From her, I learned about Princess Yuzhen—she’s her aunt. That’s why I said it sounded familiar when you mentioned it. So Xue Yunshi is her cousin.”

  

  

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